God In Three Persons
God in Three Persons is an album by The Residents, released in 1988 on Rykodisc. God In Three Persons tells the story of Mr. X, a disgraced evangelist who discovers a pair of conjoined twins with miraculous healing abilities. A theatrical adaptation of the album debuted in Bourges, France in April 2019, with additional performances in San Francisco and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in January 2020. History God In Three Persons was The Residents' first recording project designed from the beginning for CD (although the album was also released as a double LP), free of the usual constrictions of the vinyl medium. It was also the first album that the band recorded digitally, using computers to edit the album into its final form. Before this they had used analog systems, having owned the some of the first 4, 8, and 16-track studios, and did their editing manually with razors and splicing tape. Parts of God In Three Persons ''derive from a long instrumental piece composed by The Singing Resident, entitled "Knot In A Million Years". The 2019 pREServed reissue of the album features this instrumental, as well as a number of demo versions of ''God In Three Persons tracks with Hardy Fox on vocals. The album features the main organ riff from "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" by The Swingin' Medallions as a central motif. This track was previously covered in part by The Residents as part of "Swastikas on Parade" from The Third Reich 'n Roll. Early in the album's production, the group's long-time collaborator Snakefinger (who was slated to record several guitar tracks for the album) tragically passed away of a heart attack in 1988. The finished album would feature guest contributions from vocalist Laurie Amat and brass and woodwind by Richard Mariott. Concept " single, 1988. Photo by Henrik Kam|left]]God In Three Persons is narrated in the first person by Mr. X, a Colonel Tom Parker-type character and disgraced evangelist, who finds a pair of conjoined twins who have miraculous healing powers. X convinces the twins to let him manage their careers, touring them as holy healers and conducting services during which they cure the masses. Mr. X begins to lust after the "female" twin, before realizing that the twins' sexes are fluid, rather than fixed. When he discovers that the twins are far more worldly than he had believed, and therefore less under his control, he conducts a vicious rape in which he severs the connection between the two, separating them forever. In the end, he realizes that his feelings for the twins were not being imposed on him by the twins, but came from within himself. Mr. X is accompanied throughout with occasional commentary sung by Laurie Amat, who acts as a "Greek Chorus" (and sings the album's "opening credits" on the first track). Release The God In Three Persons project had been initially designed by The Residents as being analogous to "potato chips" - ie. available in a variety of flavors. Despite this (due in part to the reluctance of Rykodisc) only a companion soundtrack album (featuring the instrumental backing tracks) and two singles, "Double Shot" and "Holy Kiss of Flesh" were released alongside the album in 1988. The album was also the first Residents album not to be published by Ralph Records, instead it was pressed by Rykodisc in the US and Torso in Europe. It was reissued on CD in 2000, featuring tracks from the instrumental soundtrack album as bonus material. God In Three Persons Live , 2019-2020]] The Residents had briefly intended to follow the release of God In Three Persons with a theatrical stage performance tour, and got as far as writing an overture to the show, but the idea was shelved when the group chose instead to develop the Cube-E production in 1989. The group revisited the idea in April 2019, with the debut of a new performance based on the album in Bourges, France. This production featured the Singing Resident in the lead role of Mr. X. Four American performances followed, with genderqueer artist Jiz Lee in the dual role of the twins; a preview at The Lab in San Francisco and three shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in in January 2020. These performances featured a new and fully re-orchestrated version of God In Three Persons (complete with overture), with contributions from long-time collaborator Joshua Raoul Brody. Partly funded by an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign,God In 3 Persons - Live! at Indiegogo the show also featured video projections from John Sanborn, and costumes and set design by Leigh Barbier. Track listing # Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:52) # Hard & Tenderly (4:36) # Devotion? (3:36) # The Thing About Them (4:05) # Their Early Years (4:39) # Loss of a Loved One (4:50) # The Touch (3:30) # The Service (5:02) # Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (4:37) # Fine Fat Flies (4:26) # Time (1:18) # Silver, Sharp and Could Not Care (3:03) # Kiss of Flesh (9:39) # Pain and Pleasure (4:35) 2019 pREServed edition # Knot In A Million Years (22:59) # Main Titles (Demo) (3:20) # Devotion? (Demo) (2:51) # The Thing About Them (Demo) (4:11) # Loss Of A Loved One (Demo) (3:31) # The Touch (Demo) (2:04) # The Service (Demo) (3:55) # Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (Demo) (3:19) # Loss Of A Loved One (Extended) (5:43) # Holy Kiss Of Flesh (Single Mix) (16:05) # Land Of 1000 Dances / Double Shot (13:13) by Chris Kenner # Their Early Years (Live) (5:18) # Hard And Tenderly (Live) (5:14) Credits Composed, Arranged & Performed by: '''The Residents '''Song Stylist: Laurie Amat Brass & Woodwinds: Richard Mariott Package Design:' 'PornoGraphics Cover Photography: Henrik Kam Release history See also * ''God In Three Persons Soundtrack'' * Holy Kiss of Flesh * Double Shot * God In Three Persons Live External links and references * God In Three Personsat The Residents Historical * God In Three Personsat RZWeb * [https://www.discogs.com/The-Residents-God-In-Three-Persons-Soundtrack/master/36396 God In Three Persons at Discogs] * God In Three PersonspREServed edition at Cherry Red Records Category:Albums Category:God In Three Persons Category:PREServed